Obesity medicine
Field of medicine
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Criticisms of the field
Some physicians do not feel as though obesity medicine should be its own sub-specialty. Rather, they feel as though obesity, as a complex disease process, should be treated by endocrinologists or physicians who have acquired additional training in the field of nutrition.
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Obesity as a chronic disease
In June 2013, the American Medical Association (AMA) adopted policy that recognizes obesity as a chronic disease, a disease process which requires a range of medical interventions to prevent and treat. While professionals from different professions (US senators, congressmen and congresswomen, physicians, and medical students) applauded this decision, others were not so eager to categorize obesity as a disease. Since the initial acknowledgement of obesity as a disease by the AMA, there has been an ongoing debate about the topic.
Education
Obesity education in medical schools and residency
Only a few medical schools and residency programs offer training and education in the field of obesity. As a result, some physicians may not be equipped to treat it. In order to address this issue, medical schools and residency programs will need to modify their curriculum to teach their students and residents about this disease process to ensure that the large subset of the patients that they encounter in their careers receive adequate treatment.
Obesity medicine clinical fellowships
There are only a few dedicated programs which train clinicians in the field of obesity medicine:
- Harvard Medical School Obesity Medicine and Nutrition Fellowship
- Nemours Pediatric Obesity Fellowship
- UTHealth Center for Obesity Medicine and Metabolic Performance.
Obesity research fellowships
There are several research programs in the field of obesity:
- University of Alabama-Birmingham
- Johns Hopkins Obesity Research in General Internal Medicine Fellowship
- Minnesota Obesity Prevention Training (MnOPT)
- Yale Program for Obesity, Weight and Eating Research (POWER)
- Centers for Disease Control & Prevention Nutrition and Obesity Fellowship
- University of Arizona, Nutritional Sciences Graduate Program, Training Grant in Obesity Research
- Harvard Training Program in Nutrition and Metabolism.
Obesity board certification
Board certification in obesity medicine is offered by the American Board of Obesity Medicine. Eligibility requires either the completion of a fellowship, or adequate continuing medical education.